Under the Covers – Daredevil #163

This new series will, from time to time, take a look at some of the covers that grabbed my attention along the way.

We’ll start off with this March 1980 issue of Daredevil.

I was 11 and my family was in the throes of a big move. My mom felt guilty and I was able to get her to drop the 40 cents on this one.

At the time I was a big Hulk fan thanks to the legendary Bill Bixby television show. I had recently learned about Daredevil from my copy of Sons of Origins. To see this obvious mismatch was shocking. The cover made it look like Daredevil was about to be on the receiving end of a gamma powered beating.

What I did not know was how important Daredevil would become to me in the coming months.

You see, this issue features artwork by Frank Miller. In just a couple of months, Miller would take over the title and introduce ninjas, Kingpin, Punisher,Bullseye and Elektra – essentially the entire modern Daredevil canon.

Once the family moved, I began to collect comics in earnest and Daredevil was a big one. The gritty adventures of Matt Murdock were manna for a teenage geek and it all started with this one.

Of course, Miller would go on to give us the grim and gritty Dark Knight Batman, another touchstone for me and the character.

I’d read Ronin.

I’d read his Wolverine.

Hell, for a long time, I’d read anything he wrote.

While my affinity for the Hulk faded, Daredevil continues to fascinate me all these years later. From the lackluster 2003 movie to his Netflix resurgence, the story of Matt Murdock resonates with me.